Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (RFBYC) will be hosting 2010’s Australasian Championship for the 8.9 metre, long keel Dragon yachts. The 2009 Prince Philip Cup was held in Sydney.

Twenty-nine boats competing on the Swan River between 2nd and 7th January 2010. Each has a small crew of 3 to 4 people.

It should be an exciting series competing for this prestigious trophy, the Prince Philip Cup (PPC). Many competitors are coming from overseas including Scott Palmer from NZ, Robert Campbell from the UK, and Mikal Muratov and his wife, Olga White, from Russia who often compete against each other. They respectively came 3rd and 5th in the 2009 PPC.

After a long delay waiting for the weather to settle, the race began in a south westerly breeze which freshened as the morning progressed. As expected, activity on the start line was frantic and the first start was aborted by the race committee with seconds to go. The second was subject to a general recall and the third attempt, under a black flag, resulted in a clean start.

Both Russian crews were prominent early. Olga White emerged at the top mark with a small but decisive lead followed by series leader Richard Lynn, and with the second Russian boat (sailed by Mikhail Muratov) in third place, the scene was set for an enthralling contest.

For 3 of the four laps little changed, but from the chasing pack Tony Lynn, sailing Red Baron, emerged as a clear leader and stretched out a solid lead on the second last downwind leg. Behind him, Olga White maintained her composure and her edge over Richard Lynn, but on the windward leg, while the leading trio went right, Mikhail Muratov and Gordon Ingate read the conditions well and opted for the left.

Tony Lynn’s lead was reduced to a boat length, and Ingate approached the top mark on starboard, screaming for right of way over Olga White. The close encounter seemed to rattle the normally unflappable Russian skipper for at the final pass of the gate Ingate had forced her back to third place.

All eyes were on Richard Lynn. Seemingly content to stay with Olga White in the earlier stages, he let the Russian head to the south side of the course and opted to stay near the middle. The tactic worked, with the minor players assuming a critical role in the placings. Red Baron narrowly won from Gordon Ingate’s Whim, and Richard Lynn was elated to finish third, one place ahead of Olga White, to claim the title and the Prince Philip Cup.

Final Result after 7 races with 6 races to count:

Photographs may be found on the IDA Photogallery